Knots to Meters per Second
Convert knots (kn) to meters per second (m/s). Both measure velocity, and the conversion comes up in driving, aviation, sports work.
The Formula
``
meters per second = knots × 0.514444444444
knots = meters per second × 1.94384449244
`
One knot is 0.514444 meters per second, and one meters per second is 1.9438 knots.
Conversion Table
| Knots | Meters per Second |
|---|---|
| 1 kn | 0.514444 m/s |
| 2 kn | 1.0289 m/s |
| 5 kn | 2.5722 m/s |
| 10 kn | 5.1444 m/s |
| 25 kn | 12.8611 m/s |
| 50 kn | 25.7222 m/s |
| 100 kn | 51.4444 m/s |
| 500 kn | 257.2222 m/s |
| 1,000 kn | 514.4444 m/s |
The Other Direction
| Meters per Second | Knots |
|---|---|
| 1 m/s | 1.9438 kn |
| 2 m/s | 3.8877 kn |
| 5 m/s | 9.7192 kn |
| 10 m/s | 19.4384 kn |
| 25 m/s | 48.5961 kn |
| 50 m/s | 97.1922 kn |
| 100 m/s | 194.3844 kn |
| 500 m/s | 971.9222 kn |
| 1,000 m/s | 1,943.84 kn |
What Each Unit Is
Knots (kn) — one nautical mile per hour, or exactly 1.852 km/h. From the knots in a line paid out behind a ship: sailors counted knots passing in a fixed time to read speed.
Meters per Second (m/s) — the SI unit of speed — metres travelled per second. The coherent SI derived unit, used throughout physics and engineering.
A Sense of Scale
An airliner cruises at 450–500 knots- A hurricane starts at 64 knots
- Walking is 1.4 m/s
- A sprinter peaks near 12 m/s
- Sound travels at 343 m/s
Precision
The factor 0.514444444444 is rounded. For engineering work carry more digits than the table above, and round only at the end — rounding at each step compounds.
Watch Out For
- Never say "knots per hour" — the "per hour" is already in the unit.
In Code
`javascript
const knotToMeterPerSecond = (value) => value * 0.514444444444;
``
Where This Conversion Comes Up
- Driving
- Aviation
- Sports
- Shipping
- Weather
How Many Decimals Do You Need?
Rounding the factor costs accuracy, and how much depends on the factor. Converting 137 kn with the factor truncated at each decimal place:
| Decimals kept | Factor | 137 kn becomes | Error |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 1 | 137 | 94.3844% |
| 1 | 0.5 | 68.5 | 2.8078% |
| 2 | 0.51 | 69.87 | 0.8639% |
| 3 | 0.514 | 70.418 | 0.0864% |
| 4 | 0.5144 | 70.4728 | 0.0086% |
The right number of significant figures is set by your input, not by the converter. If you measured knots to three significant figures, the answer in meters per second is only good to three — writing more digits claims precision the measurement never had.